The Evolution of Bass

As technology has progressed, we've gone from just one kind of bass to almost any kind of bass you can think of. Our amps are lighter, smaller, and more powerful. We have so many toys that you can achieve almost any kind of sound you dream up.

Where do you think the evolution of bass technology will take us?How will our demands, as players and performers, in the future shape what gets made?What would you like to see get put out there?

I think Markbass had a good idea with the modular amp setup.Also the new Gallien-Kruger head that's 800w and under 5lbs looks really great.

I think amp tech is gonna get smaller and lighter, but basses will stay mostly the same.5 and 6 strings might become more popular, and 4band eqs might become more prominent or something, but the P bass in its oldschool outdated glory will never go away and neither will hulking ampeg tube heads.

I think that 4-string basses tuned BEAD instead of EADG will become quite popular. It effectively eliminates the need for down tuning a 4 string and gets rid of the high G string that is rarely used. Plus traditionalists will love the way they can disguise the low-B but still play a 4 string.

I think that 4-string basses tuned BEAD instead of EADG will become quite popular. It effectively eliminates the need for down tuning a 4 string and gets rid of the high G string that is rarely used. Plus traditionalists will love the way they can disguise the low-B but still play a 4 string.

I can see this more in the future. Kataklysm does this.

Metal bands these days are tuning lower more often and most metal bassists dont really use their upper register unless they're really good.

On the flip side DiGiorgio uses a 5 with a high C

Another thing I see happening is the bass is losing its place in music. Its sad to say but I feel like it will be kinda like keyboards. They used to be an integral part of every band but now you barley see them anymore. Too many guitarists try to fill in the bass players 'role' by playing heavy drop tuned riffs. Also a large percentage of touring/giging bassists are actually guitarists cause good bassists are hard to find.*Done Rant*

Quote by DirtyMakik

Did you realise that, according to your poll, there are more hermaphrodites than girls on UG?

I think that 4-string basses tuned BEAD instead of EADG will become quite popular. It effectively eliminates the need for down tuning a 4 string and gets rid of the high G string that is rarely used. Plus traditionalists will love the way they can disguise the low-B but still play a 4 string.

I can't see this happening personally. I use all my strings including the G!

I could see this happening as quality wood sources become more scarce and in turn, basses become more expensive.

Would non-wood bodies make a huge difference in sound? I'm sure the weight could be cut drastically.

Edit:

Quote by corrda00

Another thing I see happening is the bass is losing its place in music. Its sad to say but I feel like it will be kinda like keyboards. They used to be an integral part of every band but now you barley see them anymore. Too many guitarists try to fill in the bass players 'role' by playing heavy drop tuned riffs. Also a large percentage of touring/giging bassists are actually guitarists cause good bassists are hard to find.*Done Rant*

Yeah, I think this is becoming more common as far as pop music is concerned. I think the bass is being frequently replaced by keyboard and synths. I'm sure bassists tour with these pop groups though.

I could see this happening as quality wood sources become more scarce and in turn, basses become more expensive.

Would non-wood bodies make a huge difference in sound? I'm sure the weight could be cut drastically.

Composite bodies do make a difference sonically, but they can vary depending on the manufacturing process. Carbon fiber composites/graphite do sound more "woody" then people give them credit for though. Weight is also variable, depending of if said composite parts are hollow or not. Basslabs are super super light (and completely hollow), but old Steinbergers weigh about as much as your average Fender.

I think more renewable or readily available woods will crop up as alternatives to more traditional tone woods in the future. Also little features like high mass bridges and Neutrik locking jacks I can see becoming more standard. The Lightwave pickup system kind of fizzled, but that's another cool idea that could do great things for the future of bass.

Bass has always been threatened by keys and synths, look at the doors, or reggae music which almost displaced the bass until the low B came along.

As for new materials, I believe it, but I think it will never be "cheaper". What I mean is, opinions aside the instrument business has lots of myths and facts and lies interwoven, we can all agree to that. Leo fender chose alder and ash, at first because they were cheap, he was a man looking to mass produce guitars, and he didn't even play. All the tone talk came later. That said other than say Danelectro, I don't know a single guitar company that uses a differing structure and doesn't charge out the nose (even then dano's structure isn't exactly expensive compared to what they charge). So I can't think of a way it would make it cheaper, if someone found a polymer that made a durable body, it would quickly be found to have a great tone, or dissed then picked up 20 years later by future indie kids and found to have a great tone causing a revival. I find it funny they still use rosewood and mahogany as they seem to have an impending endangered thing going on.

Composite bodies do make a difference sonically, but they can vary depending on the manufacturing process. Carbon fiber composites/graphite do sound more "woody" then people give them credit for though. Weight is also variable, depending of if said composite parts are hollow or not. Basslabs are super super light (and completely hollow), but old Steinbergers weigh about as much as your average Fender.

I think more renewable or readily available woods will crop up as alternatives to more traditional tone woods in the future. Also little features like high mass bridges and Neutrik locking jacks I can see becoming more standard. The Lightwave pickup system kind of fizzled, but that's another cool idea that could do great things for the future of bass.

I played on a bass in a local shop this one time.

The "body", if you could call it that, was just an outline made of a rigid foam bar for lack of a better term. It had a rosewood neck and fretboard and it extended in the "body outline" where the pickups usually were.

It was also headless and the tuners were down by the bridge.

It was the lightest bass I've ever played on but I can't remember the brand or model.

I suspect we will embrace and perfect the MIDI technology that has already been forsaken by guitarists. Hex pickups and synth modules with better tracking than on a guitar will allow the electric bass to perform pieces as yet unimagined.

I think one of the future innovations will be integrating sensors in bass guitar. Sensor can be used for playing (for example on the fretboard) as well as for sound processing (like sensor tonechangers on keyboards)...

I honestly think the immediate future is revolving around the notion of "it needs to do everything".

Phone technology really kicked it off, with the smart phones and the innundation of applications on them. But you can see this concept bleeding into other media. Look at video game systems now, and where they're headed (specifically the Wii-U Sony Vita).

I can easily see music following the same route. Better apps on our phones/tablets that may replace pedals/pedalboards. Maybe they'll replace amps at some point... or at least pre-amps.

I can easily see newer amps using touch-screen technology.

Basses that are more connected to computers as well, but i see the real advancement not in basses themselves, but with the amps, sound modeling and instantaneous-sharability of music.

I dunno...

"Punk Rock should mean freedom, liking and accepting anything that you like, as sloppy as you want, as long as it's good and has passion."

Seriously, nearly every time someone tries to re-invent the wheel with the bass it's stupid/gimmicky. I'm no old fart (I'm 17), and I think 70lb SVT's and "outdated" P-basses keep staying around generation after generation for a good reason. It's not that I think everyone should like them and use them, but to say that they have no place in today's world just because they're essentially old technology is bullcrap.